Machine for slitting plies of fabrics



.March 11 1924.` 1,486,825

D; B. ASHMAN MACHINE FOR SLITTI'NG PLIES OF FABRIC o, Filed Sept. 28. 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 .4

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" @Mza @MMM Patented ar. 1l, 1924. y

' DAVID IB. ASHMAN, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, ASSIGNOR 'IO THE GOLDBERG PAD- DING MACHINE COMPANY, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

MACHINE IORVSLITTING PLIES 0F FABRICS.

v Application led September 28,1921. Serial No.1503,762.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, DAVID B. ASHMAN, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Baltimore, in the county of .Baltimore City and State of Maryland, have'invented a new and useful Imprcvement in a Machine for Slitting Plies of Fabrics, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a machine for cutting slits in plies of fabrics, and is espe- 4cially .useful in placing the slits in such places `where pockets are vto be formed in garments made from said fabrics.

' A the means described herein and disclosed in,

An object of my invention is to provide a machine for the purpose stated that will be simple in construction and operation, and

that will readily cut through plies of. fabrics of considerable thickness.

a Another object is to provide a device for the purpose'stated which is adapted to slit the .material intermediate the side edges thereof, and which, during such cutting, is adapted to secure the material against movement, whereby neat and trim apertures may be formed in the fabrics preparatory to the formation of the pockets at such places.

These and other objects are attained by the accompanying drawings, in whichvFig l is a side elevation of a device embodying my invention.l

l which a frame a2 supports a knife a", and

means adapted to reciprocate Athe knife,

Y whereby the knife may cut through the fabrios B placed upon the base.`

Thedevice A of my invention comprises a basen having an elongated slot a therein, andupon which is :mounted a frame a2 having arms a3 and a4 which extend over the ,baseV a and terminateV substantially mid i way between the forward and rear ends of the base. tend toward the forward end of the base The free ends of the arms exand'are spaced from one another by means of a brace a5. -The arms have mounted upon them, at their forward ends, the slotted tubes a6 and al. A knife holder as is slidably mounted upon the tubes and supports a downwardly projecting knife a", which knife may be mounted upon said.V holder in any suitable manner. The knife has an angular cutting edge @33. The knife holder has formed in it a vertical way am in which is reciprocally mounted a rod an, the upper end of which rod is mounted upon a cross bar am. The opposite ends 'of the cross bar carry pins ala and a, which pins extend into the slots c and al in the tubes. The knife holder carries pins a and als which extend into the slots als and als. Springs alg and a are disposed within the tubes and the opposite ends of the springs engage the pinsV on the knife support and on the cross bar. A plate @2 mounted on the knife support limits the forward end of the way am and serves to retain the rod in the way al". The rod au carries at its lower end, a slotted pressure foot w21, the slot therein being in the line of reciprocation of the knife 'a9 and of a size that will permit the projection of the knife therethrough. Studs L22 and a eX- tend from the knife support and pivotally mount the levers aztand c25 upon the knife support. The upper ends of the levers are' retained in spaced relation by means of a handle a, and suitable means such as the screws a27 retain the handle upon such levers. The lower ends of the levers are pivotally connected to the upper ends of the links @28 and w29, the lower ends of said links being pivotally mounted upon the forward ends-ofthe arms a3 and a4. The rod au has formed upon it a shoulder a3 which normally engages the upper Surface of the knife support. The rod also has formed on .it a lug am in which is-formed a vertical guide lway in which the knife may be reciprocated and the upper end of the lug a31 forms a shoulder w32 adapted to engage the under surface of the knife support.

The operation of my device is as follows:

Plies of fabric B are inserted between the base ci` and the arms a3 and t in such position that the knife, when being brought downward, will cut the fabrics 1n the desired place. The handle a is then grasped and the levers are moved about their pivotal mounting upon the studs L22 and w23, whereupon the knife support and cross bar are moved downwardly and carry the knife and pressure foot towards the fabrics B. After the pressure foot @21 is brought into engagement with the fabrics B, the springs L19 and a2 retain the pressure foot in yielding engagement upon the fabrics. As the levers 1f/24 and L25 are moved further about their pivotal mountings, the knife engages the fabrics and cuts a slit there-in. The knife may be moved downwardly until the lower surface of they knife support engages the shoulder u32 formed on the lugs @31, whereupon the lever is returned to its normal position as shown in Fig. 2, whereupon the knife is ,withdrawn from the materials B and the pressure foot is elevated thereabove, thereby releasing the fabrics.

IVhat I claim is:

l. In a device for slitting plies of fabrics the combination with a flat base having two spaced apart tubes extending vertically thereabove, of a knife support having a tubular bearing at each end which bearings slide on the exterior of the tubes so as to sustain the support in horizontal position between the tubes, means to reciprocate the knife support upon the tubes, and a depending knife mounted on the support.

2. In a device for slitting plies of fabrics the combination with a flat base having two spaced apart tubes extending vertically thereabove, of a knife support having a tubular bearingat each end which bearings slide. on the exterior of the tubes so as to sustain the support in horizontal position between the tubes, means to reciprocate the knife support upon the tubes, a depending knife mounted on the support, and a pressure foot adapted to be moved into yielding engagement with the base.

3. In a device for slitting plies of fabrics the combination with a flat base having two spaced apart tubes extending vertically thereabove and each tube having a longitudinal slot therein, of a knife support having a tubular bearing at each end which bearings slide on the exterior of the tubes so as to sustain the support in horizontal position between the tubes, means to reciprocate the knife support upon the tubes, a depending knife mounted on the support, springs in the tubes, a rod mounted reciprocally upon the support, a cross bar upon the upper end of the rod, pins upon the cross bar and upon the support extending into the slots in the tubes and engaging the springs, and a pressure foot mounted upon the `lower end of the rod. i

4. In a device -of the class described the combination with a base of spaced apart tubes extending above the base, a knife support having tubular bearings which slide on said tubes, a knife movable with the support and normally havingvit-s cutting edge above the base, levers pivotally mounted interlessees mediate their ends upon the support, links connecting an end of each lever and having a pivotal mounting upon the tubes adjacent the lower ends thereof, the links and levers being adapted to move the knife support upon the tubes.

5. In a device of the class described the combination with a base of spaced apart tubes extending above the base, a knife support having tubular bearings which slide on said tubes, a knife movable with the support and normally having its cutting edge above the base, levers pivotally mounted intermediate their ends upon the support, links connecting an end of each lever and having a pivotal mounting upon the tubes adjacent the lower end, the links and levers being adapted to move theknife support upon the tubes, and a pressure foot adapted. to.v be moved toward and away from the base simultaneously with the movement of the knife toward and away from the base. V

6. In a device of the class described the combination with a base of spaced apart tubes extending above the base, a knife support having tubular bearings which slide on said tubes, a knife movable Vwith the support and normally having its cutting edge above the base, links connecting an endof each lever and having a pivotal mountingupon the tubes adjacent the lower ends thereof the links and levers being adapted to move the knife support upon the tubes, a pressure foot adapted to be moved toward and away from the base simultaneously withthe movement of the knife toward and away from the base, and means toyieldingly retain the pressure foot in engagement upon the base. 7. Ina device of the class described the combination of a slotted base, arms mounted on the base and extending` thereabove, tubes mounted on the arms extending upwardly therefrom, a knife support mounted slidably upon the tubes, a knife mounted' upon the support and having a depending cutting edge adapted to enter into the slot Yin the base, a lever pivotally mounted intermediate its ends upon the knife support,- andla link having its opposite ends pivotally mounted upon one of the arms andupon one of the ends of thevlever.

8. In a device of the class described, the combination of a slotted base, arms mounted upon the base and extending thereabove, slotted tubes mounted upon Ythe arms and extending upwardly therefrom, a knife sup- .port mounted slidably upon the tubes and having a way extending therethrough, a knife mounted Yupon the support and having a depending cutting edge adapted to be inserted into the slot inthe base, a cross bar,

a rod mounted on the cross barand extending reciprocally through the way in the support, pins on the opposite ends of the cross bar extending into the Aslots in the tubes, pins on the support extending into the slots in the tubes, a spring in each tube engaging the pins on the cross bar and the support, a slotted pressure foot mounted upon the lower end of the rod and normally lying between the base and the cutting edge of the knife, the slot in the pressure foot being vin alignment with the knife and the slot in the base, e lever pivotally mounted intermediate its ends upon the knife sup- 10 porta and a link pivotally mounted upon an arm pivotally engaging the lower end of the lever.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this 12th day of 15 

